Strings
by Danielle Winters
Summary: Because both of them had plans for their futures and neither one of them included love in their plan. But when the perfect situation arrives, Kyouya knows how to pull the strings and manipulate things on his advantage.


**Strings**

**Summary:** Because both of them had plans for their futures and neither one of them included love in their plan. But when the perfect situation arrives, Kyouya knows how to pull the strings and manipulate things on his advantage.

He was sitting comfortably in his study. A cup of steaming black coffee was beside his trusted laptop. His table was neatly organized. All the files he had reviewed and signed that day were neatly piled on one side of his table. Deciding to take a break, Ootori Kyouya took of his spectacles and watched the pouring rain outside. A small smile graced his handsome features.

It will probably come a surprise for the people who know Kyouya to see him smile. The former Shadow King rarely smiles when he was still a high school student at Ouran. Those rare occasions when people see him smile were moments when he had come up with an evil plan or a strategy to blackmail a host club member to submission.

Most people see Ootori Kyouya as a handsome man and a power to be reckoned with. After all, no one can ever predict what the Shadow King was thinking. People find it hard to read the thoughts of Kyouya. Somehow, in his efforts to be noticed by his father and to achieve beyond what his older brother achieved gave him a defense mechanism to hide thoughts and emotions. Only privilege people are able to read Kyouya and as far as he can remember, there were only three people who were able to see beyond his façade: his sister, Shidou Fuyumi, his best friend, Suou Tamaki and his fellow host club member, Fujioka Haruhi.

Fujioka Haruhi. The name makes Kyouya smile even more. She was a clumsy commoner. He first met her when they were in high school. She stumbled at the Host Club by accident. In hopes to find a peaceful place to study, Haruhi found the 3rd Music Room and was stunned to see six handsome male students welcoming her. At first, none of the Host Club member noticed that she was a "she". It was him who first noticed it and he silently watched as his fellow members finally realized that Haruhi was in fact a girl. Of course, Suou Tamaki did not realize Haruhi's true gender until Haruhi left the dressing room wearing the girl's uniform. She stumbled into their lives by accident. She became an indispensable friend to them the moment she broke an expensive vase that Host Club owned.

Haruhi was a little sister to Hani-sempai and Mori-sempai, a "toy" to the Hitachiin Twins, a daughter to Tamaki and an asset to Kyouya. Having Haruhi in the club brought a lot of money. To cut the chase short, all of the six male members of the club considered Haruhi as their closest friend. She was the only one allowed to know their personal lives and she was the only one (aside from Tamaki that is) who can see through all of their façade. Remembering the fact that Haruhi can see past through them made Kyouya shook his head. "You were a troublesome member after all." He muttered to himself.

It wasn't always happy in the Host Club though. There came a time that they need to part ways and the biggest blow of departing was felt by Haruhi. Haruhi finally realized her feelings for Suou Tamaki. Tamaki realized her feelings for Haruhi as well. Of course neither of them were able to tell what they felt for each other. Their relationship was not even given a chances to start. The Suou matriarch, knowing of her grandson's affections for Haruhi, forced the scholarship student to leave Ouran High School. All information about Tamaki's actions were supplied by the Suou family lawyer Kousaka. After Haruhi's first year in Ouran, she did not come back and disappeared in the Academy.

Kyouya, with all his private police searched high and low for the whereabouts of Haruhi but he failed. At that time, he could only mutter and curse under his breath for the Suou Matriarch was a force to be reckoned with. She hid Haruhi very well that not even the Ootori intelligence could find her. The Host Club eventually disbanded. The twins went back to their own world, Hani-sempai and Mori-sempai were graduating, Tamaki was becoming a puppet of his grandmother. Kyouya on the other hand was hell bent on proving his worth as heir the Ootori Zaibatsu. He did everything that he could to surpass his brothers to the point of buying 80% of the shares of the Ootori Group of Companies. His father was quite surprised that the new owner of his company is in fact his own son. Kyouya bought his father's company at the tender age of 18. While he was on his quest to conquer his father's company, he was exhausting every possible way to find Fujioka Haruhi.

No one would probably understand why Kyouya was still hoping to find Haruhi. Some would even think that he was a heartless person because his reasons for looking for Haruhi was probably because of her debt. Unknown to them, his will to look for Haruhi was fueled by a more personal reason.

The nigh they spent their summer vacation at the Ootori rest house in Okinawa triggered the subtle changes in Kyouya. The night she said to "you will not gain any merits by sleeping with me" changed everything. The moment said to him "thank you for being nice. I know you are just trying to prove Tamaki-sempai's point, but there's no need for you to worry because I can take care of myself " shattered his façade. The second she said "I know you are not evil Kyouya-sempai" made him realize that she was one of the few people who could look at him and see pass through the mask he is wearing. From then on, Fujioka Haruhi was an indispensable friend for him.

It took him three years before finding Haruhi. Kyouya actually met Haruhi by accident in a library inside Tokyo University. He was studying medicine at Harvard but he was invited to give a short seminar about business and the healthcare industry at Toudai. He was after all, a well-known person since his triumphant conquest to buy his father's company when he was only 18. Since he is still studying, he asked his father to run the business and he will take over as CEO once he earned his medical degree. His seminar had just ended and some of the female students, in order to get into his good graces, offered to tour him around Toudai. Being the host that he was way back in high school, he accepted the offer even though he knew it was a complete waste of his time.

He and the female students were in the Law section of the library when they heard a crashing sound. Apparently, some books fell from the upper shelves and a student fell from the ladder. Kyouya offered his hand to the student and to his surprise, he saw the person he has been looking for.

**FLASHBACK**

"K-kkyouya-sempai?!" Haruhi said in surprise. Kyouya was quite speechless and for the first time in his life, he was caught off-guard.

"Ootori-sama, do you her?" One of the female students accompanying him asked. Kyouya cleared his throat before answering as he pulled Haruhi to help her stand-up.

"Yes. She is a friend of mine whom I had not seen for years." He answered. It was Haruhi's turn to be speechless.

"Oh I see." The female students said.

"Ladies, thank you very much for giving me a tour but I hope you will forgive if I cut it short. You see, me and my friend have a lot of things to catch-up." He said while smiling at the ladies. Haruhi just shrugged as she saw some of the ladies fainting. "Damn rich bastards…" she muttered. She was surprised when Kyouya held her hand and pulled her out of the library.

Kyouya found a quiet spot in the university garden. He and Haruhi sat down under a Sakura Tree. Kyouya did not waste any time to ask about Haruhi's whereabouts and what happened to her during her absence. Haruhi promptly answered all his questions. Knowing the Shadow King, it was better not to trifle him. He told him that he and his father were relocated in Nagano and that they were closely guarded by the Suou private police. Any news about her achievement were blocked by the Suou Matriarch. The reason she was able to study at Toudai was because of an academic scholarship. She worked part time to pay for her apartment and other things that she needed. Her father on the other hand retired at Karuizawa with Misuzu-san. The Suou police are still watching her closely, making sure that she will not get in touch with Tamaki or any of the host club members.

"By now, a Suou police might be reporting to Kousaka-san." She said as she stood up and dust her pants. Kyouya watched her as she walked away from him. "Its quite tiresome to be with rich bastards like you so I might as well get going before my dream is yet again taken from me."

"Haruhi!" Kyouya called out. Haruhi stopped from walking and looked back at Kyouya. "Do I still have a debt sempai?" She asked. Kyouya laughed at the seriousness and silliness of Haruhi's question. He stood and walked towards Haruhi. "Starting today, you are free from your debts and from the grasp of the Suou Matriarch." Kyouya said. Haruhi's eyes widened.

That same evening, Haruhi learned that Tamaki agreed to marry a daughter of one of Japan's powerful zaibatsu. It was all over the evening news, the engagement of Suou Tamaki and Toyotomi Mizuki. Haruhi sighed in relief and at the same time, she felt her heart skipped a beat again. Even though she had not seen Tamaki for quite some time, she knows deep inside her that she still loves the former Host King. She shoved the thought out of her mind. She turned-off the television and started to focus on studying for her quiz.

A week later, Haruhi was taken by surprise when she saw Ootori Kyouya lounging in the café where she worked. Kyouya just smiled at her which sent shivers in Haruhi's spine. The Shadow King rarely smiles. He only smiles when he has something evil planned.

"Kyouya-sempai, what are you doing here?" She asked plainly.

"Still blunt as usual…won't you offer the menu to your guest?" Kyouya commented. Haruhi offered the menu to Kyouya.

"I have a proposition to make…" Kyouya said.

**END OF FLASHBACK**

That proposition was to ask Haruhi to be a scholar of the Ootori Zaibatsu and in return, she will work under the Ootori Group of Companies as one of their corporate lawyers. Of course, Haruhi was reluctant to accept it because knowing the Shadow King, there will always be a catch. In the end, Kyouya convinced Haruhi to accept the proposition. After graduation, Haruhi was a sought after lawyer. She topped the Bar Examinations and many job offers came flooded the doorstep of Haruhi's apartment. She had to refuse the offers since she was bound to work for the Ootori Zaibatsu. The partnership between Fujioka Haruhi and the Ootori Zaibatsu turned out a formidable one.

In between work, Kyouya and Haruhi would be seen eating lunch together. When they have a day off, they would be seen either in the Ootori Mansion, hanging out at the garden whil having tea or at Haruhi's apartment, having a commoner's dinner. During work, Kyouya and Haruhi rarely spoke of personal matters. They were always in a meeting with clients or investors. They would only talk about business and corporate law inside the office. None would have suspected that they would end up getting married. It is an unlikely pair after all.

What triggered a change in the relationship of Kyouya and Haruhi was the re-appearance of Suou Tamaki in the life of Fujioka Haruhi. Since Haruhi was gaining fame from all her achievements as the formidable lawyer of the Oorori Group of Companies, Suou Tamaki finally had the guts to face Haruhi. He dropped by at Haruhi's office (which is of course inside the Ootori Building) and asked her to eloped with him.

**FLASHBACK**

Kyouya was quietly standing outside the office of Haruhi. Tamaki and Kyouya had a meeting earlier. He saw his best friend entered Haruhi's office. He can clearly hear what the two was talking about.

"Let's elope Haruhi…" Tamaki said with desperation. Upon hearing this, Kyouya clenched his fist. How dare he to enter the Ootori premises just to propose an elopement with the company's lawyer.

"Elope?" Haruhi said and then she laughed out loud.

"I'm being serious here Haruhi." Tamaki said sternly

"I know…that's why its funny. You seem to be forgetting that we are already in our late 20's. We are no longer high school students sempai. You are also forgetting the fact that you are already married. " Haruhi reasoned out.

"I don't care!" Tamaki shouted.

"I do!" Haruhi said seriously. "Leave this office at once sempai. I am not interested with your offer. I loved once but that was all in the past now. We have our own lives now. I am happy where I am right now, you should try to be happy as well with your wife sempai."

Upon hearing footsteps coming towards the door, Kyouya hid himself to avoid being seen. He saw Tamaki, leaving Haruhi's office and closing the door behind him. Kyouya came out of his hiding place and barged into Haruhi's office.

"Kyouya-sempai?!" Haruhi said in surprise. She was surprised even more when Kyouya locked her in his arms. She dropped the papers that she was reading.

"I thought he'd take you away from me again…" he said. His voice was hoarse.

"Take me away from you?" Haruhi asked.

"Tamaki, I thought that idiot would take you again…I spent so many years trying to find you and when I did, I told myself that I would never let you leave out of my sight again." Haruhi felt that Kyouya's embrace became tighter. She just smiled and embraced the man in return.

"I do not intend to leave sempai." She said as she stroked Kyouya's back. "I know you think of me as a dense person but sempai, you have an odd way of showing your affection." Haruhi teased. Kyouya finally let go of Haruhi and smiled at her.

"Odd way? If I told you that I love you and I do not intend to let you go from the moment I saw you at Toudai would you believe me?" It was Kyouya's turn to tease.

"Of course not! I would've laughed out loud if you said that." Haruhi answered.

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Kyouya took a sip of his black coffee as he reminisced what had happened in his life. He only needed the perfect opportunity to pull the strings, and with patience, he managed to win the affection of the woman he thought he could never have. His chain of thoughts were cut when he heard footsteps coming his way. They were silent partners. Love grew between them despite of their silence, despite of the fact that they do not display their affections to each other. Being married to the woman he struggled to find proved to be the greatest achievement he had. As he removed his glasses and faced the person walking towards him, a sincere and gentle smile graced his handsome features.

"Tadaima, Kyouya." Haruhi said as she gave him a chaste kiss.

"Okarinsai." He retorted as he bowed again to claim her lips for a passionate kiss.

**Author's Notes:** I need a Beta-Reader. No time to edit my work since I just squeeze time to write while working in the office :D Hope you can help me find one :D


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